Council tightlipped on timing of investigation

QUESTIONS are being asked about how long it took the Dunedin City Council to act on advice about missing items from the Dunedin Chinese Garden.

Multiple sources, including the attraction’s former head gardener Ian Melvin, have told the ODT the items were first reported missing last August by then garden supervisor Kim Conroy.

In a statement last week, council community services general manager Simon Pickford said just before last Christmas the council was made aware items which appeared to be from the construction of the garden were being sold at a secondhand shop.

The council had sought advice from police, and the council was investigating.

Mrs Conroy has since left her role. Before she left, she also reported (to then Toitu Otago Settlers Museum director Jennifer Evans) that garden property had been found at the secondhand shop. Mrs Evans then told senior management.

A council spokesman said the departure of both Ms Evans and Mrs Conroy was in no way connected to the issue of the missing items.

The Otago Daily Times understands a contractor noticed items were missing from a Tahuna storage building when they were asked to replace broken garden tiles.

Mr Melvin said he thought the items retrieved by the council from the shop were only a small fraction of what was missing.

Items stored in the offsite building included marble, roof tiles, lamps and furniture, all shipped from China during the garden’s construction.

He said he understood the monetary value of the missing items was significant — possibly much more than $100,000 — and the cultural value was higher.

Mr Melvin, who retired at the end of last year, was critical of the time it took the council to launch its investigation.

The council did not answer questions about the alleged delay in investigating the missing items. A spokesman said it would not be making further comments while the investigation was still ongoing.